Through The Mist
by Esperon Hearts
Summary: Bella Cullen has existed for 10 years in happiness with her immortal family and best friend. After moving away from Forks but staying in contact with Charlie, how will she cope when tragedy on the Quilute Reservation calls her back? What happened on the Lake and why do the wolves urgently need help? Set 10 years after Breaking Dawn. Not sure on rating so T to be safe.
1. Grief

Ok, this is my first Twilight fic and I have tried to keep this as close to the book as I could cos I like fics like that ;)

Huge thank yous to my new Beta, Maddyson Ruby for tweaking a few bits and pieces.

Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think :)

And I wish I owned Twilight but sadly, I don't and all the characters, settings, lore etc belong to Stephanie Meyer who is utterly amazing for letting us write stories using her excellent characters.

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I stared out of the window, the weak sunlight of winter strained through the bare trees towards the house, dancing over the river than ran beside the place that I called home. My best friend, Jacob and my daughter, Renesmee were walking at a human pace along the side of the river, their hands clasped and deep in conversation. A part of my complex mind felt affection towards Jake. Years ago he'd had to work so hard to have me understand my own feelings towards him and now he needed to do the same with my daughter. She still thought of him as a good friend, a brother, someone to trust and turn to in times of need but we all knew it wouldn't be too long before she saw him the way she was meant to, for the rest of eternity. Jake promised he didn't mind, the strange thing about imprinting, as long as he can be with the person of his affection and he was the type of person she needed, he was happy. Today she needed the brother and friend Jacob. That train of thought ran out to join the rest of my mind in grief.

I could no longer cry - I hadn't done so in nearly 10 years but the feeling was still the same. We had returned to Forks for a few weeks, a combination of our family's lack and Renesmee's abundance of ageing had reached a dangerous point just 5 years ago and forced us to move to Napavine. To the public of Forks we had to New Hampshire to finally attend Dartmouth but for my father we had stayed close enough to still see him. He loved Renesmee and I so much. Had loved.

Edward came and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, doing all that he could to try and ease my pain. I turned to hide my face in his chest, wishing his arms could swallow me up and hide the truth. He began to softly hum my lullaby, reminding me of the human times I had felt this grief and he had done the same to comfort me.

"Wha-what happens now?" I whispered, my musical voice breaking.

"Sue has already confirmed that it's him so we should be able to make arrangements for the funeral in the next few days." He said the words slowly, carefully, and held me to his chest tighter as fresh pain ripped through my soul at his solemn words.

"Is it safe for me to see him?" I had to know. He had been so full of life only last week when Edward, Nessie and I had visited him for his birthday. He face was crystal clear in my mind with the smile that lit up his face when he'd opened our present - a new fishing rod.

I couldn't help but feel if we hadn't given him the present, we wouldn't be here now and he would still be alive. But no. Charlie went fishing every day that he could and he would have been on the lake regardless of a new rod or not. No one quite knew what had happened. All I knew was he was dead. The entire Cullen family and Jake and returned the moment we had heard the news to search. But of course Charlie had been on the reservation, in wolf territory. Alice hadn't been able to see it coming and it had taken the combined strength of Edward and Emmett to stop me throwing myself across the border line and putting the treaty into jeopardy in a frantic need to be there.

Paul had found him. My fears for Charlie's safety from other vampires had never ceased after I had been turned and my first thought instantly ran to the conclusion he had been killed because of me. But Edward had at least seen through the pack's mind that he hadn't been bitten or harmed in any superhuman way. It really had just been a tragic accident. Even still, guilt consumed me.

We now had to hide at the house to wait out the time it would take to travel if we truly were in New Hampshire. I hated all the lies. Becoming a vampire had helped to me tell a lie but I still hated it and felt sure everyone could see straight through me to the truth.

I didn't trust my voice for the moment. The rest of the family were giving us some space but they were still in the house and I didn't want them to hear my voice break again. It took more effort than usual but I pushed the shield away from my mind far enough to include Edward. I felt him wince at my shared my pain. 'Can we go?' I thought.

"It may be a little difficult as we are supposed to be nearly thirty," he whispered. "But Alice has many tricks and although she hates doing it, she can make us look older."

A small wave of hope and gratitude flooded through me for my sister. I had been worried I wouldn't be able to be there to say goodbye to Charlie the way I wanted to. But there was still the matter that I couldn't cry.

"As I said my love, there are ways." He kissed the top of my head, doing all that he could to fill my heart with love and comfort. I pulled back to show him my weak smile while letting the shield around my mind spring back. Charlie's death had hit with so much agony my mind had strengthened its shield tenfold and I was struggling to hold it away for very long.

"Sue must be devastated," I said, not even letting myself try and see it from her prospective. I had lost my father but she had lost her partner. "After Harry as well, I should be there to help her."

"She has Sam and Leah too. They will help." Edward reminded me, already predicting what I wanted to do. "It would be too risky for you to be in the house now. Just wait until tomorrow."

"But she knows about us. I can get to the house without being seen, you know that." I argued back. Helping everyone else and supporting them was still as part of my nature now as it had been when I was human. "Please, it would help us both."

A small smile graced his lips to send the familiar ripple of love towards him through my heart but the sorrow stopped it short. A decade we had been together and yes, we were worse than Emmett and Rosalie. "You are so much trouble. Alice saw you would go anyway but I can't leave you when you're like this. I'll come too."

I nodded once and pulled out of his arms, clasping his hand in mine as we left for the door.

"I'll let Nessie and Jake know where you've gone," Rosalie called across the room. She had remained only slightly cautious towards me over the last few years, envy for the away I had been able to stay in contact with my human family when she'd had to leave hers after her own transformation. But today I felt she could feel my pain too and sympathised. It had been in the papers when her parents had died but they had been older and she had already been dead for years.

"Thank you." I smiled weakly back at her before Edward and I disappeared into the trees together.

We ran in silence, following the familiar path to my old house where Charlie had continued to live and Sue had moved into. Seth had taken over my old room while Leah had refused to join her family with mine and remained on Quileute land. They knew we would be in Forks soon and Leah's continuing resentment was not something I was looking forward to. Of the 16 wolves that had faced off to the Volturi all those years ago, we knew only a few more kids from the reserve had since expressed the wolf gene. No more had emerged from the day that we moved, but some had left. Sam was the most noticeable loss as he had given over his pack to Paul, choosing to remain in his human form to restart his ageing and join his wife Emily and their small children Ben and Sally in a normal, human life. It was everyone's hope that we wouldn't be here long enough for any more wolves to emerge.

We paused at the edge of the forest, looking down the hill at the small house. A cloud moved and allowed a weak ray of winter sun to confine us for a while longer. I hissed and bared my teeth, glaring at the sky that stopped me. I could already smell his weak scent on the breeze. It would be torture to smell him still in the house but it was something I needed for now. It would be easier for the scent to wane over time than the abrupt loss I now felt.

A feral instinct was taking over. I wanted to be in the house but the damn sun was stopping me. Even with the sun this weak we would still catch the human eye, however fast we tried to get into the shade of the house. I dropped Edward's hand and started to pace the line of light I could no longer cross to.

"How many are there?" I shot the words with more fury than I intended.

"Sue, Seth and Billy are in the house but others from the town are visiting frequently." Edward replied, his voice laced with worry, concern and tension. I hated him to see me like this. It was still a reminder of what had happened years ago when he had been deluded to think I should stay human. A corner of my mind remembered the day last year that I had been able to have him admit that he should never have tried to leave me human and that changing me had been for the better. At the time he had meant it in regards to the other alternative, had he not, I would now be dead. But I knew he now felt that even if Renesmee had never been conceived and born, forcing his actions, I should have become a vampire anyway. Ten years of utter joy, happiness and euphoria were being marred by the accident.

We were so used to Alice predicting the future once a decision was made, we had almost forgotten how to react when foresight and the opportunity to change an outcome was removed. Edward said she was still beating herself up about that. I would have to reassure her later. These things just happen to humans. Suddenly I appreciated the pain Edward had gone through in those years when I was just as breakable. I had never really seen how vulnerable I had been to harm but the last 24 hours had shown me. Knowing he had worried all those years ago stopped my pacing and I threw myself into his arms, not sure who needed the comfort.

We stood as two statues, waiting. The sun was hidden by clouds but we still had to wait. The Vicar Weber was talking to Sue about next week. Tuesday apparently. God I hated the secret.

The light was beginning to fade when the Vicar finally left the house, climbed carefully into his car and drove away.

"Come on." Edward broke our embrace and took my hand as we flew down the hill to the house. Seth was standing with the back door open so we could run straight in without a pause that may be seen by a prying neighbour.

"Thought I smelled you guys out there." He said with a tight smile. "How are you, Bells?" He was still such a sweet kid.

I couldn't reply. Inside the house Charlie's scent was so strong I wanted to collapse and immerse myself in it. The burn in my throat at the human scent flared before my control pushed it back.

We kept away from humans mostly at the moment. It was just safer for a while that only Carlisle, Jake and Nessie were known by the locals of the town near to where we lived. Carlisle as the busy doctor who worked in the next city, Jake and Nessie as his nephew and niece who stayed with him, were home schooled and generally didn't go to the town except to buy food. Occasionally the rest of us were spotted but as far as Edward had been able to tell, the town accepted us as distant relatives who visited. It had been a while since I had been this close to people and had been due to hunt just hours before we heard the news. I would go tonight but needed to feel this torture first and to help Sue.

"We're still in shock." My wonderful husband answered for me when he realised I couldn't. He threaded his fingers through mine to give them a squeeze and let me know he was here. I shouldn't have let him come. Bad enough that I felt the burn but he shouldn't have to suffer because of me. I turned to say these things but when I saw his eyes, also dark from the thirst; I knew nothing was going to send him away from me.

I remembered Seth standing there; watching us and guilt flooded me. This was his house now really and I hadn't said a thing. I waited while he closed the door before giving him a short hug, wrinkling my nose at his distinctive aroma, similar but different to Jacob's at the same time. "Sorry Seth, I'm getting there. How about you?"

He gave a rueful smile as we separated, a combination of my scent and grief on his face. "Charlie's been like a dad to me over the last few years." He explained, looking at his large hands as he towered over me. "So I guess we both know how we're each holding up."

I nodded. Charlie had been a father to Seth and Leah as much as he could but it had been a struggle not only with Leah's resentment towards anyone favourable to us but also through his own inability to talk about feelings and emotions with others.

We moved quietly through the house, entering the old front room where Charlie had sat and watched every sport imaginable on the battered TV. I had tried to replace it last year for him but he'd refused. Something about not wanting to take from us while we were just starting out. It was easier to pretend to be a young couple forever for Charlie rather the supernatural that we were who could earn money without the need to work.

Sue was sitting on the sofa, her eyes red and a damp tissue in her hands. The salty smell of tears mingled in the room with that of human, wolf and dust. Billy was beside her in his chair and they both looked up as we walked in.

"Why did you let this happen?" Billy suddenly challenged his voice full of pain, anxiety and frustration. "You said your lot could see the future and would know if something like this would happen!" He choked and was caught in a fresh wave of grief while he hid his face in his hands. Billy had always been such a quiet but strong man that his outburst shocked me to the core.

"Alice couldn't see while he was down at the Quileute Reservation," Edward replied calmly in an attempt to soothe. "She can't see wolves and when they are close to others she is watching, their entire future disappears." He didn't remind Billy that he did know that, Jake saving me from drowning years ago had highlighted this problem but now wasn't the time.

From the way Billy's shoulders shuddered I knew he remembered but wouldn't say so. It was easier to blame people you were supposed to hate anyway when something like this happened.

"Billy," Sue placed her hands over his and I noticed how frail he was now beginning to look. "We discussed this; there was nothing anyone could have done. It was an accident and Charlie wouldn't want us blaming his only daughter and her family for this." She rose and walked towards me, her arms open for a hug. She shivered slightly as she felt how cold my skin was. We had always joked that with Seth about, who needed heating?

"So, when are you officially back?" She asked as we found seats. Edward, however, leaned against the window, ensuring the curtains were fully closed and we couldn't be seen by anyone walking by. My father's armchair remained empty.

"Um, tomorrow evening, I think." We had checked the flights and realistically, that would be the soonest we could have arrived in Forks after hearing the accident. "We think it's safe for us to stay at home but we'll pick up a hire car from the airport. We can only risk myself, Edward and Nessie but the others are still here." It was easier telling them the charade than it was to talk about the space in the empty chair. "Jake is supposed to appear in the morning after driving from Ellensburg." The town had known of tension between Jacob and Edward so it would have seemed stupid for all of us to be moving to same place. We had convinced him to finally finish school in the last few years and he was now pretending to attend Central Washington College. "Has anyone managed to speak to Renee?"

"I left a message on her home phone this morning." Sue whispered and guilt instantly flooded me. How stupid to ask his current partner if she had told his ex? Renee had been a difficult point for the last few years. I had managed to avoid seeing her and had to use a fake bad line each time we did speak so she couldn't hear the change in my voice. While it had been safe to let Charlie come to his own ideas over what had happened shortly after I married Edward, Renee was too perceptive and could never just accept something for what it was. I was going to have to see her soon but that thought could wait for later.

"Sue, I'm sorry. That was unkind and tactless to ask but thank you for doing so." I tried to keep my voice even but it just kept breaking through the weak smile I tried to give. She nodded in return, her gaze still focused on the damp tissue in her hands.

We allowed the silence to grow and fill the room. I kept breathing deeply to saturate myself in the scent that would soon fade from this world but I was determined to ensure it remained in my memory for the rest of my existence. After wanting to be here and help Sue so much earlier in the day, now I was here I didn't know what to do.

"Is there anything we can organise or help out with?" Edward's soft voice broke the trance in the room. I knew he couldn't hear my thoughts at the moment but he had an uncanny way of knowing what was on my mind anyway.

Sue took a deep breath. "We've organised with the Vicar for the service to be held on Tuesday next week but we haven't yet chosen where to...where to lay him to rest." She closed her eyes as another fresh wave of emotion tried to push its way through. I watched as she refused to let it take over her body and pushed it back so she could carry on speaking. She was always such a strong person and I couldn't help but wonder, if there was a god, how he could force such a wonderful person to go through burying two partners. "If you would like to choose somewhere… that would be a great weight off my mind."

"Of course we will." I nodded back, feeling my own wave of pain crashing around me again. The idea of having to wander around all the graves in the small church yard and choose the best place to lay my father's empty, cold body to rest was an unpleasant job for any of us but Sue had already done that once.

Silence stole over the room again. Edward saved us. "I'm sure you would like to hold the wake here but you are more than welcome to use our house. Charlie was a very popular man in Forks and I'm sure lots of people will want to pay their respects."

"We're having it here." Billy responded in a hard tone, his eyes closed against us.

"There's no need to be rude Billy." Sue scolded him, throwing him a confused glance. Billy had always been friendly to us in the past but it seemed loosing his best friend was going to take its toll on him. "Thank you Edward but we'd like to keep everything close to the town."

"Of course." He was such a gentleman. Suddenly, I was pleased he was here with me. I wasn't sure I could have coped with Billy in this mood on my own.

"Sorry mum," Seth spoke in a strained voice. "I...I need to check something with the pack." He abruptly got up and left the room, banging the back door on the way out.

"Seth wait!" Sue cried after him but he was already gone. She had half risen from her seat before sinking back into the sofa. "I'm so worried I'm going to lose him. It was so difficult loosing Harry, exactly the same time he and Leah had first begun to change and I just don't know what this is going to do to him." She said this under her breath, half to herself and half to us. I chose to ignore her for now. We would talk to Seth as soon as possible.

A sharp rap on the door made Sue and Billy jump. A thought crossed my mind to wonder how they hadn't heard the approaching footsteps before remembering that their human hearing couldn't pick up such delicate sounds. I really had been away from humans too long. I hoped I wouldn't have to practice moving at an acceptable speed again.

I glanced at the clock. We had been here over an hour already but it felt like only minutes had passed. Edward and I nodded at each other once. We would have to leave before whoever it was saw us in the house.

"I'll be back in the morning if you would like or we can leave it until later in the day when we officially come back." I told Sue, wrapping my arms around her in what I hoped was a comforting hug and I was glad I had worn a long sleeved jumper to protect her from my cold skin.

"Let's leave it to the afternoon, please." She replied, avoiding my gaze. I didn't need to glance at Edward to know he would tell me her thoughts later.

The person at the door was impatient and knocked loudly again. I paused to rest a hand on Billy's shoulder before leaving the room and heading to the back door.

It was completely dark outside by now, not even the moon was casting a shadow as we raced from the house back to the safely of the trees.

"What was going on in there?" I asked my husband.

He sighed. "Billy is still sure it's somehow our fault but he knows really it is just an accident. But Sue... I don't know. It's like she kept thinking in code, as if she didn't want me to know the extent of what's going on." The frustration was clear on his face. It was the same look he'd had when trying to hear my thoughts when we had first met and only finding a brick wall. "I desperately want this to be something I'm over thinking but I still have this feeling there is something I can't shake."

Suddenly his face and entire body froze. We hadn't gone far from the house but I couldn't be sure who he could hear or where they were.

"Edward? Edward what is it?" His pose was naturally defensive and my instincts had my body poised for action.

He took a deep breath. "Seth wants to talk to us. What happened, may not be an accident after all but the pack are at a dead end." He took my hand and we raced through the trees in a wide semi-circle around the house, heading towards La Push.


	2. The Lake

Disclaimer: I own utterly nothing. All of this except for the few extra characters that I have made up are the property of Stephenie Meyer.

Well, here is the second chapter to Through The Mist. Huge thanks to my beta Maddyson Ruby who has helped smooth a few rough edges.

I truly hope you all enjoy this as the story is starting to unfold :D

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Chapter 2 - The Lake

Edward brought me to a clearing along the border where Seth, Paul, Quil and Embry were waiting for us. We greeted the other members of the pack and waited for them to start speaking.

"Things have been a bit strange around here over the last few months." Paul began, his arms crossed over his chest as though he was fighting the instinct to attack. "Well, as strange as it gets when vampires and wolves exist. There have been these weird disappearances in both Forks and on the reservation."

"What do you mean strange?" I asked, feeling impatient. Any emotion other than joy was alien to me in this life and it had an unsettling effect on my personality.

"Bella, please wait to hear us out, ok?" Seth soothed gently and I had to bite my tongue to hold back the angry retort that threatened to burst forth.

"What's strange," Paul continued after glancing between the two of us, "Is that their scent literally vanishes. It wasn't until the third person vanished inside a week that we got involved and found out. We followed the scent of missing people from where they were last seen and just like that, it would stop. Down a trail in the woods, walking out of their home to the car, going down the street to the shops. Utterly nothing could be followed."

The information stayed my tongue and held my attention, I had become a statue listening to Paul's every word.

"That was when Charlie started to investigate." Seth added. "He had the authority to talk to people we couldn't. There was no link that we could see between the people that vanished. Men, women, children - it didn't matter, they just went." He paused, deep in thought and I tried to wait patiently for him to continue, already the feeling of dread growing in my heart. "The day before he- he went out on the lake, he kept muttering under his breath when he didn't think we could hear. Something like "I shouldn't have trusted him" or "but why now?" It didn't seem to make any sense and he didn't discuss any of the case with us at home."

I nodded slightly, Charlie had always been very careful not to bring his work home and certainly never to discuss a case with someone outside the authorities. "Do you think he found out what was going on then?" It seemed a stupid thing to ask but I was in no mood to make assumptions.

"In honesty, yes and I think whoever, or whatever it was realised and decided to silence him," Seth blurted out in a rush. His expression loosened slightly as though a great weight had been lifted from his chest. "There was something we didn't tell you earlier." He looked between Edward and me, trying to gauge our reaction. "The thing is, Charlie always went fishing on a Saturday, but this Saturday, he didn't take his gear with him."

Silence hung around the clearing, punctuated only by the heartbeats and breathing of the 4 wolves. We were right in our first assumptions. This wasn't an accident.

"Did you find anything at the lake?" Edward asked.

Paul replied, "So far, no, but that was why we decided to talk to you about this. Since you left, we feel it's our job to protect the area from everything human and... superhuman." His voice twisted ever so slightly on his last word but I ignored it. Even after the pack and the Cullen's had become friends, Paul was still uneasy. "And we've come to the conclusion that this is something we can't work out. We need your help. Especially as Charlie has been dragged into this, Bella, we know this is something we can't leave you in the dark about."

"I'll phone Carlisle," said Edward, the phone already ringing in his hand. He conversed so quickly I could barely understand it myself. My mind was reeling in shock. I had thought my father to be safe. I had thought Forks to be safe, especially since I, the danger magnet, had left. And now there was something going on that had an entire pack of wolves asking for help. This was not right at all. "He'll be here shortly."

The four men nodded in agreement. It was unsaid to wait for the others before gaining more information that would only have to be repeated in a few minutes. Edward moved to stand in front of me and wrapped his smooth hands around my face, lifting my gaze to look into his eyes.

"Bella, we will get to the bottom of this, I promise." His voice was as smooth as silk as he whispered through the chill air before pulling me into his embrace. I nodded dumbly into his chest, my hands forming fists in his shirt as I attempted to pull him closer.

It only took minutes for Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Jake to appear. Edward moved to stand behind me, his arms tight around my waist to be the physical and emotional pillar I needed. How was I so lucky to find such a man? Even if we did live for an entire existence I would never be able to look after him the way he could look after me.

Jacob came straight up to us, "Rosalie stayed to look after Nessie. What's up?" He looked between us and his brothers. Suddenly he looked uneasy as if unsure which side of the clearing he should be standing.

Quickly, Paul told the rest of the family what he had already told us. Alice shifted from foot to foot in anxiety, angry with herself for being unable to see the future and at the wolves for being the reason. Jasper took her hands in his to offer comfort to his love, her torture plain on his face.

Carlisle thought for no more than a second or two, "We really need to start at the first disappearance but I feel that as Charlie may have been the most recent victim, we should investigate with him first." He looked from one Quileute to the other. Of course, in order for us to help we would need to be there. In wolf territory.

"We are willing to let a few of you enter the reservation but only with one of us present." Paul spoke for the pack, his eyes roving from one face to the next. A part of me had hoped this "my land, your land" divide would end after what happened with the Volturi but really, the aversion to each other's kind ran too deep for human reasoning and camaraderie to bridge the gap.

"Thank you." Carlisle was always careful and polite. He turned to glance at Edward first before facing the family. "I think Alice, Jasper and Esme should return home to find out what you can about the other victims. Edward, Bella, Emmett and myself will go to the lake and see what we can find." He made sure to catch each one of us in the eye as he spoke, ensuring we were all happy with his decision. Gratitude radiated from me in his direction. I needed to see where my father had last been alive, where he had drawn his final breaths.

Paul seemed displeased that four of his immortal enemies would be allowed to enter his territory. He glanced at Jake briefly, noting he had not been included in Carlisle's instructions. Jake was free to come and go as he pleased around our family as he wasn't a member - yet.

"Wait." Seth spoke to Alice before they could head back the house. He jogged to a tree and reached into the branches to bring down a backpack. "I ran and got these from Charlie's office before Edward and Bella left the house. It's all the information on the cases he was looking at." He handed it carefully to Alice. "It should give you a hand on where to start but could I have it back before dawn? They are official police records."

"Thanks Seth, we'll leave the bag at your house if we don't manage to see you again tonight," Alice replied, slinging the old bag carefully over her back. "See you guys later!" She said with strained cheer to the rest of us before she ran after Esme with Jasper at her side.

Jake flashed me a quick smile before bolting into the trees. A moment later a large, brown wolf appeared, his eyes bright and lips drawn back in imitation of the same smile.

We allowed the other wolves to run ahead for a moment, giving them time to remove their shorts and phase into the forms they were more comfortable with. Jake issued a short sharp bark and we were off, running at inhuman speeds to the last place that had seen my father alive. Venom welled in my mouth with the realisation that someone had deliberately harmed my father in the worst way possible.

I could tell the moment we crossed into the reserve. The pungent aroma of wolf increased tenfold while my sharp eyes could note the paw prints in the hard ground and where massive claws had dug into the trees.

Within minutes we came to a small lake with a little jetty protruding into the water and an old boat moored alongside it. I looked around with guarded but attentive eyes. The trees came right up to the edge of the water, their long, bare branches overhanging like claws. A cloud shifted and illuminated everything in the silver light of the moon.

"We've searched around the whole lake but we've been unable to find an unfamiliar scent, human or otherwise." Edward's voice cut through the air, speaking for Paul who remained in his wolf form. Seth, Quil and Embry began to run around the edge of the lake, weaving in and out of the trees. Of course, making sure we didn't try to run off further into the reservation. The pack really was worried if they didn't trust us to keep our word.

"Where did you find Charlie?" I asked Paul, both wanting and not wanting to know at the same time. The large wolf stared straight into my eyes before heading to the east around the lake. I followed behind, Edward and Jake at my heels. I could hear Emmett and Carlisle discussing where to begin their search. Emmett took off after Seth while Carlisle began at the water's edge and started to carefully inspect the shore.

Less than a quarter of a way around the lake, Paul stopped and looked down. The ground had begun to rise slightly to leave a three foot drop to where the water began to lap at the soil and exposed roots of a neighbouring tree. I dropped into the shallow water, dismissing the notion that Alice would be devastated to see my designer boots soaked through and caked with mud. I didn't care, they were just boots. It had rained since Charlie was found but I could still catch his scent. One of his hairs had caught on the bank and a scrap of clothing was entangled on an exposed root.

I could hear the soft padding of giant paws as Paul and Jake withdrew slightly before Edward made a small splash beside me as he joined me in the water, wrapping his strong arms around me.

"Who would do this?" I asked. "I mean, Charlie was liked by everyone he knew..."

"I don't know love," he whispered in my ear. "But I think that rather than see this as an attack on Charlie, your father, see this as an attack on Charlie, the chief of police. If what Seth thinks is true, he was seen to be a danger to someone else's scheme."

I could feel anger rising in my chest again and a snarl escaped my throat through bared teeth. Edward tightened his grip around me, holding me close in an effort to calm my raging anger. I didn't want to calm down. I wanted to scream and shout and tear the reservation apart to get my answers. A higher part of my mind, detached from the emotion was already cautioning the feral instinct. If I tore the place apart, I would also destroy any evidence, letting my father's killer get away scot-free.

Gradually, I regained control, squeezing Edward's hand to let him know that I was okay once more. He allowed me to move out of his embrace to lean down into the water and examine the bank more closely.

"I don't think he was here for very long before he was found," I muttered. Straightening I examined the bank higher up. His scent was fainter here but present from when Paul had dragged his body out of the water. The smell of wolf intermingled where the bank was flat and the scent of more people was present. "Apart from when Paul dragged him out of the water, no one else came down here. I guess than means he was already dead before he came to rest here. He died, elsewhere and drifted here." The pain tried to pull me under as I discussed my father's last moments in this world but it became easier the more I saw this as a clue, a mystery to be unravelled. "What do you think?"

"I agree that there is only the smell of Charlie and Paul on this low part of the bank but that doesn't mean no one else was here, only that we can't detect them." Edward spoke slowly. "If whatever is causing people to disappear into thin air and the scent is abruptly lost, it might not be so impossible to think that a smell can be deliberately hidden." His thoughtful eyes burned into mine. I could see his point.

"We were right then, this is a matter for our world." Paul looked down at us. I had been so occupied inspecting the bank I hadn't heard him phase back into his human form.

We leapt out of the water to join him on the bank and I winced slightly at the squelch emitted from my boots. Alice wasn't going to let me hear the end of this when I returned.

"It may be looking that way," Edward sighed wearily. The air felt heavy around us with the realisation that there was only so long our family was able to enjoy our time together without something trying to tear it apart. "Charlie's scent is much fainter up here so I guess he either died in the water or was...dumped." He whispered the last word; his gaze was full of his love and compassion for me.

I could only close my eyes and take deep breaths in an attempt to get through the next few hours. This was not the time to break down again when such important answers needed to be found.

"Was the boat on the jetty the only one here?" The words hurt but this had to be done. I opened my eyes again, glanced at Edward to assure him I could cope with this before looking to Paul for his answer.

"Yeah, it was found on the other side of the lake but we brought it back to the jetty. This isn't a popular place for fishing so there's never been a reason for more than one to be kept down here." Paul confirmed but I was already running back the way we had come.

My boots echoed on the old wooden planks that moved under my feet, a movement too subtle for humans to notice but my supernatural senses could detect everything. A breeze had stirred and was causing the flat surface of the lake to form little waves that lapped against the foundations of the jetty and the side of the old boat tied beside it.

"He walked on here," I began, "I'm not sure as other people have been here since but I think he was alone." I stepped into the boat, adjusting my balance as I did so, grateful for the grace and poise granted to all vampires. "He was definitely the only person to get in the boat." I stared up at my husband, Jake and Paul who waited on the jetty.

Jake growled and Edward spoke for him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," my voice began to grow in confidence. "Seth could probably be the only other person who is as familiar with Charlie's scent as I am after living with him for so long and I am certain that he was the only person to be here."

"But again we're going to have to factor in the possibility that there is someone we can't detect, right?" Paul looked at each of us.

"Should be a good place to start, which way do you want to go first?" I heard Edward speak. Jake didn't need to spent a huge amount of time in his wolf form but we were used to the one sided conversations. But I wasn't paying attention. My eyes had been drawn to the black, cold surface of the water.

"Have any investigations been made into the lake?" My voice didn't seem my own and the boys fell silent.

Paul shook his head. "Not that I know of...Water isn't really great for fur."

Without a second thought I jumped from the small boat and landed in the water, Edward's cry following me.

Instinctively I closed my eyes until I was completely submerged. The water was bitterly cold but this had little effect on how I could function within its grasp. I stopped breathing and instantly noticed the sensory deprivation that accompanied the action. My eyes opened to take in the dark, murky waters around me. Little bubbles were still making their way to the surface after being pulled under with me. A splash on my left indicated Edward had joined me in the water but my attention was already focused on a shape, drifting in the weak current that existed at the bottom of the lake.

As I swam closer, the pale shape began to take form. With a shock I realised the object was a small hand. As I grasped it I looked into the face of a young girl, no more than ten years of age. She appeared to have died here; a thick metal chain attached to the end of an iron weight was fastened around her ankle. Edward joined me and with his strength ripped the chain apart and helped me bring her small body to the surface.

"What the!" Paul cried when he saw the figure in Edward's arms. I knew it was hopeless and she had died a long time ago but I still couldn't help but call for Carlisle's help. Within seconds he was there.

We moved towards the bank to lay the girl down for Carlisle to examine. "Do you know who this child is?" Carlisle didn't look up as his expert hands gently pushed back her lids to reveal pale blue eyes. Her hair although streaked with mud seemed to be blonde and she was dressed in jeans and a red jumper.

Paul's face fell as he kneeled beside the doctor. "Her name is Abigail. She disappeared about three weeks ago. Her parents only live down the road." He moved as if to touch her but stopped, withdrawing his hand and getting to his feet again. "I should go tell the rest of the pack that we have at least...found someone." His voice was heavy as he jogged into the woods and out of sight.

"How long do you think she's been there?" I asked.

"Well, it has been cold recently, it can be hard to say but I would guess at around a day or two. You would begin to see more damage to the body if she had been there longer." Carlisle responded.

"She would have been here when Charlie was too..." I whispered. "Do you think he found her when...when this happened to her and tried to save her but..."

"Who knows love," Edward pulled me into his arms. "But I'd like to think someone else did this rather than she did this to herself. For starters, a tiny girl like her would be too weak to lift iron weight she was chained to."

Carlisle frowned suddenly and froze, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Something is wrong here." I nearly snorted at the irony. "Have you noticed?" He turned to look up at Edward who froze.

"Of course, I didn't notice." He too bent down and leaned towards the girl, inhaling deeply. "She has no scent!"

"What?" I exclaimed while Jake barked suddenly on my left. "What do you mean?"

"We can't smell her at all, it's as though she literally, doesn't have a scent. You wouldn't be able to tell where she had been at all." Carlisle seemed in shock. "In all my years I have never come across a living creature that didn't have at least some kind of smell."

I joined them; kneeling in the wet, black mud to put my face closer to the little body. I inhaled and could smell the stale lake water, the mud that streaked her face and clung to her clothes but, as Edward and Carlisle had ascertained, nothing that could be linked directly to the girl.

Jacob whined looking pointedly at Edward, his frustration evident that he was stuck in his wolf form after leaving his clothes elsewhere. "I don't know what this means," Edward muttered in response. "But somehow, either she has a shield that can hide her physically, even in death as a human or there is someone out there who has the ability to remove a person's scent. The perfect method to hide from anyone, forever."

Dread began to claw at the edges of my mind, deepening into pools of terror. If someone had been here in my father's final moments, if they had no scent, we would never be able to find them.

"We should at least try and find evidence of where she entered the lake. I can't see why a foot print or broken branch can help point us in the vague direction, even if she leaves no definite proof." Carlisle got to his feet. Edward grasped my hand before we too stood up and ran in one direction while Carlisle and Jacob ran in the other.

The bank varied in height all around the lake but we could find no trace of where Abigail had entered the bleak waters to her end. We caught up with Emmett to tell him our discovery.

"Poor kid, only just starting out in life and all." His face became melancholy, an expression he rarely wore. "But not having a scent? That really is off. Are you sure?"

"She's over by the jetty if you want to see for yourself." Edward muttered, giving my hand a quick squeeze. Emmett nodded, more to himself than us and ran off to see the girl for himself.

It only took another ten minutes before we found Carlisle and Jacob inspecting a patch of mud ten feet from the edge of the water. Joining them, I could see a small, bare human footprint preserved in the mud. "The search party didn't come over here when Charlie was found so with any luck it should be Abigail's." said Carlisle. "But what I don't understand is how she got to the lake from here. Even running flat out, a human, especially not her size wouldn't be able to reach the lake. And from the amount of mud that was moved when she landed, she was either running flat out, or she jumped down from above." I followed Carlisle's gaze to the trees above us just as Edward leapt onto a branch above my head.

"She came from above," he shouted back and in my impatience I leapt up to join him in the trees. There was no need but he placed his hand in the small of my back as I landed beside him, making sure I wasn't going to fall back to the ground. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. He was the one who had called me graceful as I leapt from a window to the ground the day I was transformed and not once in ten years had I fallen over my own feet or out of a tree. But his contact was a comfort all the same. I looked to where he was pointing and on the branch a few feet below us, there was a distinct impression of where the bark had been recently ripped away to expose the white flesh of the tree. "She might have been running through the trees before coming down to the ground. We should investigate all the surrounding branches for evidence." Edward waited for Carlisle to agree before tugging my hand and leaping to a neighbouring tree. "Carlisle is going to look at trees in that direction," he pointed to the north. "I'll check out the trees to the south if you can cover those to the east?" He rested his smooth hand on my cheek, softly stroking with his thumb. I placed my hand over his and with a small smile and a nod, agreed to look in the direction he indicated.

After a while, I found it was easier to move amongst the trees higher in the canopy and look for a similar exposure where the bark had been ripped off at a lower level. Emmett and Paul joined us, fanning out and helping to examine more trees and different levels. For hours we continued to look at every branch but could find no more damage.

"I'm beat," Emmett's voice echoed through the trees and I looped back to drop lightly to the ground beside him. "I am not cut out for leaping like a monkey up there." He bore a disgruntled expression that at any other time would have made me chuckle.

"We can't even be sure it was her or just someone else." Carlisle's voice came from above before he too dropped down to the forest floor. Paul and Edward joined us within seconds. "Can you think of anywhere else we could also search for clues?" He directed his question to Paul.

"Hmm," he sighed. "I guess we could always look in the lake again. I really don't want to think about it, but Abigail may not be the only missing person down there." I was sure I saw his big, unbreakable frame shudder at the prospect of what might be found in the waters.

Just at that moment, the first rays of the winter sun attempted to cross the night sky. We had been so engaged in our search, none of us had noted how much time had passed. Already I could see the deep inky blue fading away from the sky to yield to what would be a clear, sun filled day without a cloud in the sky.

I didn't need to be told to run. Quil remained with Abigail's body while the other wolves flanked us on either side, debating with themselves the news of the night and what should be done next. As we crossed the border into our own territory Edward paused while Paul made a few more requests and Seth veered off back to the house to reassure Sue after being out all night without permission.

Jacob threw me a glance before looking at Edward for a few moments and turning back the way we had come.

"Where's he going?"

"He's going to stay for a bit and see what else he can find out. He'll be back later in the day," Edward muttered before taking my hand and leading me back to the safety of the house in Carlisle and Emmett's wake.

The bright light was just starting to creep over the river to wrap around our tall white house as we ran up the steps and through the front door. Although it was unlikely for us to be seen in the woods close to the house, we all breathed a small sigh of relief to be within the familiar walls again. We found the rest of the family in the dining room, photos and papers strewn all over the table.

"Mom, what happened?" Nessie jumped to her feet where she had obviously been all night looking over the information the others had received from Seth. "You're both soaking wet! Eww and you smell!" She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"We went down to the lake where Grandpa die- was found." I still couldn't say it. Edward wrapped his arm around me, giving my shoulder a tight squeeze.

"Hang on, where's Jake?" Nessie stared over my shoulder to where the door had remained closed since we had entered. Her eyes scanned the room again to check she hadn't just missed him before turning back to us.

"He's stayed on the reservation for a bit to see if there's anything else he can find." Edward replied softly. Confusion and concern clouded her face briefly before she shrugged and sat back down at the table, glancing at the clock as she did so.

"Bella was able to work out that Charlie had been alone where he was found and we thought that as he was the only scent in the boat, he must have got into it alone but we can't be sure now." Edward spoke for me. "She saw something in the lake so jumped in at the end of the jetty. We found a little girl who went missing a few weeks ago had died there, chained to a metal weight."

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was Nessie's heart beating as everyone took in the information.

"Was it Abigail Banner by any chance?" Jasper looked up from where he was seated, holding up a photo of Abigail, her arms wrapped around a little brother with her parents beside her. She looked so happy.

"Yeah, Paul recognised her." I replied, walking over to the table where a lump caught in my throat when I saw Charlie's familiar hand writing. "The weird thing is, she doesn't have a scent."

Esme frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Exactly that my dear," Carlisle replied. "She had no scent of her own. We could only pick up those of the water and mud she had been in for the past few days."

"Have any of you seen of something like this before?" I asked. Everyone shook their heads in reply. It was Alice's reaction that startled me the most however.

"Damn wolves!" she growled, slamming her delicate fists on the table. "I'm utterly useless with them around. I can't see a thing!"

"Alice, it's not your fault." Jasper reasoned as he uncurled her fists and hid her hands in his own. "And you are certainly not useless." His words appeared to do little to calm her down.

Unable to see her so unhappy I tried to distract her, glanced at the table and motioning to the files, "I thought Seth asked for these to be back by dawn?"

"These are copies," said Alice. "I was at least able to see that today would be annoyingly bright again so we copied everything and took the originals back hours ago."

"Why don't you two get cleaned up." offered Esme, glancing briefly at the dark stain the left over water from the lake was making on her carpet as it ran off our clothes. "We could all use a break before going over everything. Meet back here in an hour?"

But I didn't want to stop. I wasn't uncomfortable in soaking wet clothes, nor did I care what I smelt like. My father had been killed, possibly murdered and I wasn't going to rest until I had found out who had done it. Fury began to rise in my chest and my hands balled up into fists that could smash a hole in the mountains. Jasper threw me a glance of concern at the sudden shift in my emotions. But before he could help, Edward was already there.

"Bella," His soft voice wove its way through my red mist to wrap around my soul. "Love, this will wait for an hour, please." He wrapped his smooth hands around my face.

Gradually I began to calm down, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply the comforting smell of my soul mate, my daughter and the rest of the family. I nodded mutely, resting against his arm as he guided me out of the front door and towards our cottage.

I heard Nessie sigh in frustration at our disappearing backs but she was kind enough to let us continue on her own. She had spent the night last week in the giant bed that still occupied Edward's old room and no doubt this would be where she was heading. We had returned so suddenly, Edward and I had yet to visit our own little place of heaven and her bed there was still for the size of 12 year old girl. Fully grown and as completely adult as the rest of us, Renesmee would need to re-decorate her old room if we were going to stay here for much longer. It looked like we might have to.

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Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter. Why not show some appreciation with a review? Please? Pretty please? It makes it so much easier to keep writing when people let you know what they think. I don't even mind criticism, just as long as it's at least a bit constructive and not flaming.

Thank you :) EH xx


	3. Ideas

Sorry it's been a while! Both myself and my beta reader the amazing Maddyson Ruby have been super busy over the last few weeks. Anyhoo I own diddly squat cept I suppose the few new characters that are starting to crop up. Stephenie meyer owns the rest!

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 3 - Ideas

As we approached, it seemed that nature had tried to claim the little cottage again. Weeds had appeared through every crack in the path to the front door while the flower beds were full of long dead flowers. Vines wound their way up the wall and had partially obscured the entrance. With as much effort as pushing open a set of curtain, Edward cleared the way and opened the door.

I breathed deeply again as we entered our little house. Dust lay thick on every surface, showing the years of disuse it had suffered while we had been away. I didn't care. It wasn't going to matter how many places we lived in over the next few centuries, to me, this was always going to be our real home.

I let Edward guide me to the shower which he switched on as hot as it could go before pulling me in with him. Gradually our clothes fell to the floor and he kissed me so tenderly, with so much love and adoration I was able to forget the last few hours and travel to a place of utter bliss and tranquillity in his arms.

"I love you so much," I choked, a lump forming in my throat. "Why does this have to happen to us? Why will the world not just let us be happy and get on with our lives?"

He wrapped his arms around me again, pulling every part of me to every part of him as much as he could manage. "Who knows love," he sang gently into my hair. "But what I do know is that however bad it decides to get, we will face everything together." He pulled back, caressing my cheek with his hand while staring into my heart.

I smiled faintly and reached up to place a slow, careful kiss on his beautiful lips. I couldn't resist and began to fall deeper and deeper into his touch. But a separate part of my mind held back, stopping the fall and dragging me back to reality. As I ended the kiss, I whispered, "It's been nearly an hour." We paused for a moment longer, our foreheads pressed together and breathing deeply.

"Bella?" he whispered. "Will you promise me something?"

"Mmm." I sounded back.

"Just promise that you will go hunting with me before we go back to Forks."

"Edward," I started, moving away to see his whole face. "I don't have the time to go hunting, I need to find out what's going on, why Charlie was killed and - and I need to find somewhere for him to lie." I could feel my grief welling up again as I recalled my promise to Sue.

"Bella." He began.

"No, I'm fine!" I could feel anger forming again and started to raise my voice. "Look, it's not like I'm going to break down and attack someone!"

"I'm not saying you would." Edward responded, his own voice soft against mine. "I just want to make sure you look after yourself, at least to the point that you have to while trying to protect and help everyone else."

He had me. I tried to find a counter argument but could only open and close my mouth in frustration while a soft growl escaped my lips.

"Love, please, just kill or something today and I will do everything in my power to help get to the bottom of what's going on." He began playing with my wet hair before stroking my cheek again. I felt all resistance fail at his touch. Surely this wasn't fair for him to have this much power over me.

"Fine we can go, but only after Alice and the others have told us what they've found." I relented.

"That's all I'm after." He leaned over and kissed the top of my head one more time and turned off the hot jets of water.

We stepped out of the shower and I began to dry myself with a soft, fluffy towel while walking through to the giant wardrobe adjoining our room. I switched on the light and inhaled to identify where my preferred clothing of denim and cotton were hiding. Generally only my less desirable clothing had been left here, the satin dresses and silk blouses but thankfully a shirt, a pair of stressed jeans and a chunky knit jumper was lurking in a set of draws at the back.

Within minutes we were ready and started to make our way back towards the main house. I pushed my body to its fastest limit while Edward was able to easily keep pace beside me. Without a pause I leapt over the river to land on the lawn and without breaking a stride I ran up the steps to the front door. Out of habit taught by Esme to protect the doors from our immortal strength I stopped to open it carefully and step into the house.

As I walked into the living room, Alice who was snuggled into the crook of Jasper's arm on the sofa abruptly stopped talking as I entered. In a single, graceful bound she was off the sofa and wrapping her petite arms around me. I automatically returned her hug but desperation to hear what they had found, if anything, was eating me from the inside.

"Bella, my sister, I am so sorry I couldn't see this." She whispered so that only I could hear. My anxiety began to fade as I took on her sense of guilt. I may not have Jasper's gift but I was so highly attuned to everyone in my family, empathy for each other was easy to feel.

"Alice, don't be so silly." I muttered back. "I don't blame you for anything that's happened. When the wolves are involved in something it just puts us on a level playing field with everyone else in as far as knowing what the future holds is concerned." She tightened her hug before letting go, gratitude and relief on her face. "And if you try and take the blame for this one more time I am going to disown you as a sister!" I joked back, trying to find a smile that didn't feel like forming.

She giggled, "Now that I can see is never going to happen." Typical to Alice, her smile was back as she danced across the room to the table where all the paperwork had been left the last time I had seen it. "Guess we should get everyone together again now you two are back."

Within thirty seconds of her words, Esme and Carlisle had appeared from upstairs while Rosalie and Emmett walked through from the garage. I glanced about looking for Nessie.

"She went to sleep upstairs." Said Rosalie, "She's been up all night and needs to rest but I have a feeling she won't be happy if we go over this without her." She turned away at this point, firmly leaving the decision to wake my sleeping daughter to myself.

I spent about a second pondering both options and finally decided to wake her so that she could make her own decision. She very rarely had a tantrum but this was her grandpa who had been murdered. Nessie was technically only 10 years of age but she was certainly mature enough to have a right to know everything that we did. I uttered a small sigh and glanced at Edward who nodded once as I vanished from the room and darted up the stairs.

I knocked gently on the familiar door and stepped quietly inside. The giant wrought iron rose bed had stayed here since the day Edward had bought it. We had intended to get rid of it at some point after I was changed but with Nessie's arrival, it was useful to have somewhere for her to sleep in the family house.

She had collapsed on top of the sheets, fully dressed with her bronze curls fanning out behind her on the pillow. Groggily she opened her eyes as I came to sit beside her on the bed.

"Mom." she mumbled, her voice full of sleep. "Are you guys back already?"

"Yep, we just got in. I came up to see if you wanted to stay up here or come hear about what we found on the reservation." I gently smoothed her hair away from her face, smiling gently. Edward and Nessie were the most important people in my existence and I couldn't help but become calm and happy when I was around either of them.

"Uhh, yeah." She blinked her eyes furiously attempting to wake up. "Yeah, can I come and listen? Thanks Mum." She smiled and swung her legs over the edge of the bed before getting to her feet. Swaying slightly she suddenly slapped her face smartly with both hands. "Right. I'm awake!"

I was hardly convinced. The dark circles under her eyes were huge and she had to blink every few seconds to stay awake. Flashing me a grin that was the exact image of her fathers', she grabbed my hand and began to pull me down the stairs.

"Don't worry if you need to go back to sleep, we can tell you everything later." I told her as we got to the bottom of the stairs.

Stifling another yawn she waved impatiently at me and went through to sit at the table. I followed her and stood next to Edward, taking his hand upon instinct. Jasper was standing at the head of the table and once we were all ready he began to tell us their side of the investigations.

"We had a look through what Charlie had found over the last few weeks and I think the wolves are right; there is nothing to connect any of the victims." He gave a sigh. Military men were not pleased when it came to having little to report. Picking up a small stack of paper he proceeded to hand one to each of us. "I made a list of the twelve people who have gone missing, of which only Abigail has been found."

I glanced at the piece of paper that held twelve faces and basic information of the missing people. Jasper had since scrawled the word "FOUND - DECEASED" in red over Abigail's picture.

"However, Alice thought to cross reference when the victims disappeared with the records of the weather for that day. Each time it had been either raining or overcast at the time they were last seen."

"So are we looking for another vampire then?" Emmett looked around the room.

Jasper pulled a disgruntled expression. "Together with the evidence of a missing scent on the victims, it's looking like that."

"But if that was true, why would Abigail have been left as a human to die at the bottom of a lake?" I knew little of the ways of many individuals in our race but the majority drank the blood of humans, not murdered them. "It doesn't make sense."

"I think we will have to come to the idea of motives when we have more information." Carlisle said quietly, his golden eyes full of warning. Without realising my brow had furrowed, my shoulders tightened and fists were clenched. I took a deep breath, forcing my body to calm down. I glanced back to find his warm, fatherly smile was back. "This still doesn't explain how we found her footprint in the mud and the mark on the tree. As Bella has pointed out, she was still human and should have been incapable of leaving such a trail."

"Could there be another child, or small adult with the same size feet that had been changed and carried her to the lake?" Rosalie suggested with fear in her eyes. She was suggesting possibly the most terrifying option of an immortal child.

"No," Carlisle answered, shaking his head. "If that were true, no immortal child would have the discipline to carry her to the water and leave her there undrained. The pattern also wouldn't fit with an immortal child either. Although there could be an adult vampire controlling its desires. I suppose we can't eliminate that possibility. It could be a small adult. Do any of the missing people match that sort of a description?"

Jasper shook his head. "Nope. But another kid is missing, Ted Mullins from Forks about a month ago. He was one of the first."

"But if someone created an immortal child, won't the Volturi turn up?" We had had too many missed calls when the Volturi were involved and my voice still shook at the thought of them. Yes, the last time we had seen them, we had won but that was ten years ago and who knew what new talents Aro had since collected. "Could it even be them?"

"So far, this isn't the sort of thing the Volturi get involved with." Edward shook his head. "If the pattern was more typical of an immortal child or a set of newborns on the rampage, I'm sure they would be here by now. So far it's looking too human for them to investigate from Italy."

I glanced towards Alice and Carlisle, looking for further reassurance from the two who could see their decisions and knew them best.

"I don't watch the Volturi as much as I used to," Alice pulled a face of disgust as she remembered some of the decisions the ancient family had made over the years. "But if they had decided on anything that would bring them to Forks or even to the Olympic Peninsula, I would have seen it."

"Yes," Carlisle nodded, "I agree that this isn't the sort of thing Aro or anyone else I know in the Volturi would be interested in. Perhaps if it was closer to home but not this far away."

I let out the breath I had unknowingly been holding. Somewhere a knot of tension undid itself but this still left us with the problem of who was behind the disappearing humans.

Any further discussion was halted as we could hear loud footsteps outside the house followed by the rhythmical stamping on the steps as someone hurried towards us. One by one we relaxed as we recognised the pattern of steps taken by Jake every time he ran into the house.

His memory was never as good when it came to the door which was flung nearly off its hinges in his enthusiasm to find us. I saw Esme wince at the noise but was grateful that the poor door managed to remain on its hinges. He must have only just phased as he was pulling his shirt on over his head, no doubt from where he had collected his clothes from the night before. Nessie leapt to her feet and ran over to him, flinging her arms around him as he entered the room.

"Woah, hey Ness!" he exclaimed, regaining his balance and wrapping his arms around her. "I've not been gone that long!"

With a squeak she tried to leap away but found she was held in his grasp. Unfortunately for her, she had inherited my human ability to blush on demand and her face was suddenly bright red. "Oh, um, yeah I just didn't get a chance to say goodbye..." she muttered softly, looking at her hands that now fidgeted against his chest.

The smile that graced Jacob's face lit me up from the inside. This was quite possibly the first time Nessie had started to show the effects of their imprinting and we could all see the joy and relief evident on his face. He loosened his arms to let her dash back to the table where she began to study the identities of the missing people with more interested than necessary. Jacob laughed quietly and regarded her with incredible fondness, "Silly girl." He muttered under his breath.

Emmett loudly cleared his throat, throwing Jake a huge grin and a suggestive wink. If it wasn't my own daughter I may have been able to see the funny side but settled for one of my piercing glares in my brother's direction. Jacob instantly became embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.

"Umm, yeah, hi guys." He tried to smile but faltered slightly as his gaze came towards Edward and I. "Found anything?"

"A few things," nodded Carlisle as he glanced towards Jasper, asking him to inform Jacob of our discoveries.

"Definitely creepy." He muttered as he looked from one face to the next of the victims on the piece of paper in his hands. His body gave an involuntary shudder as he looked up and said, "I managed to talk to the whole pack, a group at a time as they refused for everyone to be off patrols at once and they all feel that every patch of the reservation and Forks has been searched for these people." He waved the paper before us. "And it took a bit of negotiating but I have managed to get Paul to agree that we're all allowed to come and go as we please over any territory as long as we let them know who is going to be down there and when." The look on his face was decisively smug at his announcement. "I figured you would all want to look around as much as possible and would feel easier about it without a wolf or two breathing down your neck. Though there are a few that I'm not completely convinced about so be careful when in Quilute."

"Thanks Jake." I smiled softly. I could see that the relationship between us and the pack had been strained but with any luck, Jake was going to be the one who could pull the two sides together.

He responded with a smile of his own as he went to sit beside Nessie whose blush had only just begun to fade.

The grandfather clock in Carlisle's office began to peal to mark the hour. I glanced at my own watch and found that the day was passing quickly. "Edward, we need to run and get a car from the airport if we're going to be with Sue for 6."

He nodded. "Yes, but you promised that we would go hunting first. I can't stand to see you suffer." He trailed his finger down my cheek, dazzling me as he always did to get his way. The quietest of growls was all I could utter to voice my annoyance at his skill. A smile lit up his face and he kissed the top of my head.

"Fine, we'll be back in less than an hour I guess. Mr know-it-all is making me hunt." I couldn't help but sulk.

"You will feel better when you've had a drink." Esme smiled warmly at me and I had no choice but to agree.

"Hang on a minute." Nessie sharp voice cut through the room. "What if we're going about this the wrong way." She turned her face to me full of excitement.

"How do you mean?" inquired Roaslie, an expertly sculpted eyebrow raised in question.

"Well, rather than look for something human that connects the victims," she nearly tripped over her words she was so keen to share her idea. "What if there is something superhuman that brings all these people together."

"Are you thinking there are other creatures other than vampires, werewolves, hybrids and shape shifters running about the world?" Jacob couldn't help but keep the doubt out of his voice, however strongly he felt for her.

"No, stupid." She gave him a withering look, clearly over her previous embarrassment. "What if each of these people had a particular scent than linked them all together, a similar flavour or something."

Surprise was on the face of each member of our family as we considered her point. I couldn't help but ponder than it had been her, the half-human, half-vampire who had come to this conclusion.

"But the pack would have detected if there was a similarity in the scents." Jacob argued back, clearly trying to gain an upper hand in the debate.

"Yeah, but vampires can smell differently to wolves so if it's a vampire that's doing all of this, wouldn't it make sense for there to be a link to a vampire's nose?" She scoffed. "Its like when Mom was human, she smelled great to all vampires but she smelt even better to Dad." Nessie turned her brown eyes to us.

"She has a pretty good point." Edward chuckled, giving my hand a squeeze. "It could be something to look into tonight as we don't seem to have found anything else."

"So what, are we just going to the houses of all the victims?" Rose asked. "How are we explaining to the families that we need to waltz on in and have a sniff to see if there's a link?"

"Nope," sighed Jasper from the other side of the room. "I think the easiest thing is to sneak into each victim's house and take an item of clothing. That way we can bring the scent back for everyone to check."

"I'm not comfortable with this," Carlisle began slowly. "But I think you're right and that this will be the easiest way for us to accomplish the most."

"Wonderful." Rosalie whispered under her breath. She was being unusually grumpy this evening. I caught the glance that she and Emmett shared for a split second. I would try and see if we could visit all the houses without requiring either of their help tonight.

"So who's going where?" I looked about expectantly. Edward was keeping his gaze fixed firmly on my face, reminding me of my promise to leave soon and hunt but we had another lead to follow and I was going to stay here as long as possible.

"Let's sort that when you're back from seeing Sue." Suggested Alice, her small face bright and positive. "We can't do anything until the middle of the night so you should probably get something to drink, preferably before Edward carries out his most recent plan."

If Emmett's eyebrows could have vanished into his hair any faster they would have shot off his face. Even Jasper and Rosalie seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face. I spun around to glare at my husband who was already wearing his smile that had the ability to melt my immortal heart. Resisting the familiar urge to fall into his embrace I arched a questioning eyebrow. I never saw it coming. He moved so fast I was instantly in his arms and we were flying out of the house and into the woods, Alice's giggles following behind.

"Let. Me. Down." I growled through gritted teeth, hitting his shoulder with every word. In a most gentlemanly like fashion he gradually slowed until he was still and lowered me to my feet. "What was that for? We hadn't finished sorting out tonight." I spun around heading back for the house.

Typically he was too fast for me and was already blocking my path. Wrapping his slender fingers around my wrists he held my hands still to his chest. "Because what Alice said was true and we can sort it out later. And she agrees that you need to hunt."

"I can look after myself." I tried to break free. Why did it seem my family were trying to keep me away.

"Bella. We love you and even though you may not see it right now you are extremely thirsty. If there is something sinister going on, do you honestly think we are going to let you run around when you are at your weakest all because you were too stubborn to listen to reason?" his voice was like velvet coated in love. And his words were true. A small part of my mind had noticed I was slightly slower than normal, that my hearing and sight weren't quite as good as they should be and that this was all down to thirst. I stopped struggling to break free and leaned into his chest. Letting out a deep sigh I pulled away to look into his face. He hadn't hunted since I had so would also be affected. But not as much. Stupid older vampire. I was never arguing out of this so better get on with it.

"Fine," I huffed. "Let's go." The second my wrists were free I turned and began to run towards our usual hunting grounds. It had been a while since the area had to sustain a hunting population of vampires and I couldn't help the venom pooling in my mouth as I finally allowed myself to think of pulsing arteries and gushing blood.

Edward kept pace beside me on as we wove through the trees. Together, we paused at an unspoken spot and I could feel his eyes upon me as I allowed my senses to spread out around us, searching for prey. I couldn't help but feel that he would continue to watch until he saw me bite my prey's neck before he would go in search of his own nourishment. Dropping the mental shield that encased my mind I allowed him to share my own sensations. I had a scent. There was a mountain lion about two miles to the east, sleeping in the midday sun in a rocky outcrop.

I was off before my mind had processed the sensory information and the lion was dead in my teeth in less than a minute. I couldn't help the growl of contentment that welled up from my throat as the hot blood coursed down. Edward had followed at a distance and I could hear his chuckle from the other side of the clearing. He was still aware of my thoughts and knew exactly how much I was enjoying my kill and how annoyed I was with the grudging admittance that he was right. A flicker of movement through the trees and he was after his own prey.

I finished the lion in my own time and straighten up to think. The burn was still there but the knife edge had been dulled. I wanted to run back to the house but not only would I never leave Edward mid hunt but the logic had come through that if I was to hunt more now, the longer I would be able to go before I was forced back into the forest.

Decision made I expanded my senses again until I found a small pack of coyotes. My aversion to canine prey due to having a wolf shapshifter as my best friend had been discarded when he had been insulted I could think this way and group him with a much smaller, simpler being. I was death on the wind. After drinking three of the young animals dry the burn was easily muted and I could already feel the strength returning to my body. Even my mind felt sharper and more aware. Out of instinct I began to search for Edward and wasn't surprised to find him perched in a tree not 50 metres away. The last coyote fell from my lips I leapt into the air, spinning as I did so to land on the branch beside him.

"Happy now?" I arched one eyebrow.

"More than you know." He smiled, placing a tender kiss on my lips. He'd also found a lion. Desire for my mate stirred in the pit of my stomach and we wobbled precariously on the tree limb as I made my wishes known. In all of ten years, last night had been the first we hadn't had time together to be husband and wife. The need to feel his hands over my skin was swiftly becoming an inferno but an annoying, sensible, human part of my mind lingered and held my concerns for Charlie and the missing people at the front of my mind.

Without words and incredible reluctance we separated, our breath mingling as we stayed close. After a gentle hug, Edward offered me his hand and together we leapt back to the ground. We hit the forest floor running and headed back towards the house and reality.

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed reading my latest offering to this story and I would be rather touched if you could find the time to leave a little review of how you think its all going. Ill admit not too much happens here but its all relevant! Love to all who review and very, very sad puppy dog eyes to all who don't! Xx


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